


Sleep

by GooseEgg



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Oneshot, Shakarian - Freeform, Sleepless nights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-03
Packaged: 2018-08-19 10:22:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8201813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GooseEgg/pseuds/GooseEgg
Summary: Shepard has spent two weeks running on hardly any sleep, adrenaline, and caffeine. She's desperate to get more than an hour or two of sleep.





	

Marion Shepard lay on her back, staring up at the mass effect halos outside her cabin windows. Her body ached all over, a deep muscle pain, the result of weeks of nonstop fighting.

Tuchanka. Thessia. Eden Prime. Reapers and Cerberus and scavengers preying on the shattered lives of the refugees now crowding the Holding Area at the Citadel Docks. She hadn't slept in nearly two weeks, running constantly on four hours of sleep, adrenaline, and whatever the mess sergeant was trying to pass off as coffee.

_God, I miss Gardner._

She sat up in bed, the cold floor beneath her feet raising hairs on the back of her neck. Watching the fish in their tank, she absentmindedly reached for a pair of sweats and tugged them over her legs. She stepped over to her computer and tapped the comm button.

“Garrus. You awake?” There was a moment of silence as it occurred to her that at this hour he may have been asleep.

“ _For now. I'm just finishing up some calibrations._ ” The familiar gentle rumble of his voice was audible even over a comm channel. Shepard caught herself smiling slightly, grateful that he was still awake.

“Mind if I come down? I can't sleep.”

“ _You never can. I'll keep my door open for a few more minutes. C'mon down._ ”

\--

The elevator ride down to the crew deck took entirely too long. The dimmed night shift lighting lit the mess area in a new light, almost cozy. The med bay was dark, Liara's quarters were locked, and the few crewmen that moved around were quiet and kept to themselves. A normal four in the morning, ship's time.

Ahead, the main battery's door panel was still green, indicating Garrus had left it wide open for her to come in. She knew it would smell vaguely of grease and warm metal, but she welcomed it all the same. Anything for even a few minutes' rest.

Garrus looked up as the door slid open. He sat on a small cot he'd cleared off, allowing room for two to sleep if they were close. Wordlessly, he pat the bed next to him, and Shepard sat down, resting her head on his shoulder.

“I can't sleep, Garrus. I'm so tired. I'm so tired of everything. All the running, all the fighting. I just want to sleep for a few days. I want the whole galaxy to stop moving and just... just let me sleep.”

As she spoke, she felt a weight lifting off her shoulders. It felt good to let things out a bit, just to vent some frustrations with someone who probably shared her feelings. She looked down at her hands. Garrus had taken one of them gently in his own. He squeezed lightly.

“This'll all be behind us soon, Shepard. Then we can all retire and spend our days deliberately missing shots to appease our Turian boyfriends.”

Shepard turned her head to look up at him. “I resent that remark.”

The Turian pressed his forehead against hers, a grin on his face. “Yeah, I bet you do, Shepard.” He kicked his feet up on the cot and lay back. “Come on, let's get some sleep.”

Marion Shepard lay down, resting her head on Garrus' chest. His arm curled around her, holding her close.

She closed her eyes.

And slept.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe we do some oneshots before I start trying to do long projects again, yes? I hope you all enjoyed this.


End file.
